The terraces of Langen continue to grow: The German company Bonava has completed the first multi-family houses in passive standard with high energy efficiency. There is even an instruction manual for this.

The ventilation system is hidden in a small door in the corridor of the chic new apartment in Elisabeth-Selbert-Allee. Large white hoses and a filter system provide fresh air in the new building. The Langener Terraces, which Bonava (formerly NCC) has been constructing in Elisabeth-Selbert-Allee since 2013, will receive an interesting innovation in the fifth and final construction phase with building number six and number seven: they are the first Bonava apartment buildings to passive house standard.

The last 72 apartments, out of a total of 250 completed apartments, will be handed over to their new owners in the next few days. With the exception of the supply and exhaust air ventilation pipes at the level of the bathrooms, there is hardly any difference to the neighbouring blocks from the outside, but inside the houses there is real technology of the future. “The apartments already meet the high energy efficiency requirements set by legislators for 2021,” explains Bonava project manager Eckard Sommer.

Discipline needed

The two new buildings, which, like the other houses in the neighbourhood, are U-shaped and terraced, have special thermal insulation and an airtight building envelope. Thus practically no energy is lost. The ventilation system with built-in heat recovery ensures a pleasant climate in the rooms. Eckhard Sommer also knows the pitfalls of the passive house standard: “The system only works if all residents adhere to the rules,” the project manager knows. This means, for example, that no window may be tilted any longer, as otherwise energy escapes unnecessarily.

“In order to use the energy savings correctly, discipline is needed from the owners,” continues Eckhard Sommer. But the 60-page operating manual for the highly technical filter system certainly contains the important tips. The owners follow the rules, but amazing energy savings can be achieved: Only about 15 kilowatt hours of energy per square meter are consumed per year. For comparison: a house built ten years ago needs 100 kilowatt hours, a house built in the 1970s needs 200 to 300 kilowatt hours per square meter per year.

However, the investment in the future is not quite cheap: the apartment costs around 200 to 300 euros more per square metre. The 72 apartments with three- to five-room layouts “are between 60 and 150 square metres in size and the new owners had to invest 3,700 to 4,000 euros in them. Bonava has made an investment of 30 million euros for this project.

Sold or reserved

Langen, however, continues to grow in the Elisabeth-Selbert-Allee. Opposite the Langener Terrassen, construction work is already underway on another residential park with 36 semi-detached and terraced houses. A good third of these houses have already been sold or reserved. Another apartment building with 55 apartments is expected to go on sale in autumn. Work is also progressing elsewhere. Bonava wants to create a new home for 950 families on the 18.5 hectare site between Liebigstraße and Hans-Kreiling-Allee. Construction of the houses can also begin in 2019.

Langen’s mayor Frieder Gebhardt is glad that the city has such a reliable partner in Bonava. “For our growth course, we need players who are prepared to invest in the Langen location,” emphasizes the city hall manager. With such special projects as the multiple dwelling in passive standard the enterprise is besides a model for other developers in the area of the energy conservation and in environmental protection.

If one considers the word sustainability in connection with the existence of a company, then the term means things such as profit, adjustment, competitiveness, growing customer numbers and ultimately a long, successful existence. While arcades and casinos in the offline world are becoming less and less popular, online casinos are enjoying an increasing number of customers quarter after quarter. One reason for this: more and more trust in society.

The old image of online casinos

Even before Web 2.0, the first online casinos existed. Many merely offered games for virtual money. Others were already working with credits, i.e. virtual units that had to be purchased with real money. Today, the focus is on real money casinos and, most recently, bitcoin casinos. But before the boom in online casinos began in the early 2000s and developments in graphics, customer service and other services began, these sites were considered unreliable fraud machines.

The change of opinion in the general public

In addition to the already mentioned components such as appearance and scope of the offers as well as customer support, further aspects have been added in the meantime. Online casinos have gained even more recognition and trust through government licensing and advertising campaigns. Controlled offers, which are so publicity effective, can’t have any fraudulent intentions, can they? This has been thought correctly and is certainly the case.

Today you can see black sheep immediately

If you are visiting an online casino today and it offers a simple HTML interface with few games, dubious terms of payment and no way to interact with other users, then the case is clear. Your intuition will tell you that this is not a serious online casino. However, if at first glance – or by looking at the imprint – you know that the online casino is licensed and what services it offers, then you can enter. If modern page elements and the possibility for communication (also with the support) are available, then you are on the safe side.

Looking to the future of online casinos

Online casinos belong to a billion dollar business. And that’s a good thing. Only in this way can sustainable innovations be created and integrated into the offer. From modern coding and current trendy payment methods (PayPal, Bitcoins, etc.) to addiction prevention through the evaluation of individual user behaviour – online casinos are getting better and better in all areas. This increases trustworthiness and ensures a sustainable existence and regular growth.

The AIT presented groundbreaking innovative research and development projects in the field of mobility at Europe’s largest transport research conference.

With the TRA (Transport Research Arena), Europe’s largest transport research conference took place last week in Vienna, making it the European centre for mobility of the future. As co-organiser of the conference, the AIT brought the world’s best experts to the German capital on various topics. “As a member of the Programme Committee, AIT was responsible for the contents of TRA 2018, more than 90 sessions were organised in the areas of transport and mobility,” says Christian Chimani, Head of Center for Low-Emission Transport of AIT and Chair of the Programme Committee of Transport Research Arena 2018.

From 16 April, a total of more than 3,000 scientists and experts discussed and discussed the main topics of digitisation and decarbonisation of the transport system for four days. This year’s TRA 2018 has the motto: “A digital era for transport – solutions for society, economy and environment”. As Austria’s largest research and technology organisation, the AIT presented a large number of current projects – from the battery of the future, innovative rapid loading systems, new materials for vehicle construction, methods and technologies for improving road safety, to solutions for making mobility systems and freight transport even more efficient.

Decarbonisation of mobility

Decarbonization is one of the grand challenges of mobility. With its research work, the AIT makes an important contribution to curbing climate change in the future and to keeping the planet liveable for future generations. Projects in the field of e-mobility and energy are to make engine drives environmentally friendly, low-emission and at the same time efficient in the future. AIT’s research also optimises means of transport in a climate-friendly way. These include projects such as location planning for bike sharing systems or more efficient route planning in transport and fleet management. Another goal of the AIT researchers is the production of new materials. A breakthrough was achieved in this area with KryoAlu, for example, which can be processed at temperatures down to minus 150°C for the first time. This makes complex heating processes superfluous and represents a pioneering project worldwide.

The challenge of digitization

In the age of digitization, it is becoming increasingly important to adequately protect critical infrastructures. Global networking and technological progress are also opening up new possibilities for making transport systems even more efficient. In order to make full use of technical resources in the present and the future, the AIT is constantly researching forward-looking projects in these areas. AIT’s developments range from 5G wireless communication, which enables self-propelled cars to communicate with each other, digital monitoring of building dynamics or noise protection, to research and improvement of autonomous transport systems. With these innovations, AIT scientists are making an important contribution to the mobility of the future.

The mobility landscape of the future

Rapidly growing cities pose major challenges. The AIT also conducts research in the field of smart cities on urban development and urban mobility. The human dimension of urban design is also in the interest of the AIT’s research work, which is implemented, for example, with instruments of virtual reality. Furthermore, the Center for Innovation Systems & Policy in Austria as well as in European politics takes on an advisory function and is dedicated to current and future challenges in the field of mobility and transport.

Intel plans to break the Bitcoin mining monopoly of Bitmain Technologies Ltd. in China. With a new process, bitcoin mining is not only intended to conserve resources, but also to become more profitable again for individuals.

In addition to the recurring lighting network, the leading crypto currency is repeatedly accused of consuming too much energy. Mainstream media talk about the energy monster Bitcoin. Bitcoin mining in particular is coming under fire here. In times of global warming, these are certainly questions to be answered. Moreover, especially if you have the vision of a decentralized payment system with which the cash flows are to become fairer. As things currently look, Intel has a solution to this problem up its sleeve.

Bitcoin mining is anything but decentralized at the moment. Bejing-based Bitmain Technologies Ltd. currently controls not only some of the largest mining pools. Above all, they produce mining hardware and the matching chips. In 2017, Bitmain Technologies Ltd. is said to have generated between three and four billion US dollars in profits from hardware, software and mining. Now the Californian company Intel apparently also wants to make a piece of the cake and bitcoin mining more profitable again for individuals.

Bitcoin mining to cost less space and energy in the future

Intel has filed a patent for this, with which they want to drastically reduce the space and energy required for bitcoin mining in the future. With increasing power consumption and falling bitcoin prices, mining became less and less profitable for individuals. If Intel’s new technology prevails, Bitcoin mining can become more profitable again, not only for individuals. Also, the monopoly currently held by a single company would slowly be broken up again. With the new technology, Intel promises to reduce power consumption by up to 35%. The “Bitcoin Mining Accelerator” technology should therefore be applicable to ASICs, SoCs, CPUs and FGPAs.

Intel’s approach is an important step in adapting reality back to the basic idea behind Bitcoin. Finally, Satoshi Nakamoto’s white paper was about breaking monopolies. However, the status quo is currently moving in the opposite direction: both the mining of Bitcoin and its distribution on the stock markets is centralized and thus in the hands of the “big players”. But as soon as this monopoly breaks up again, Satoshi’s vision becomes more tangible again. Also the starting difficulties Bitcoin is still struggling with are slowly but surely solved. Just as the lighting network is facing the problem of scalability, bitcoin mining will also emancipate itself. Once this has been achieved, the mainstream adaptation is one less obstacle. These are ultimately the steps it currently takes to get Bitcoin and its competitors back on track. While the Lambo hype is currently flattening out, the crypto-ecosystem needs to grow up. Then we can really get started.